


Best of Gifts

by CastielFollowMe



Series: Single Dad Shiro Verse [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baby Paladins, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Keith is Shiro's adopted son, M/M, Single dad Shiro, baby Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:13:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9643940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: Shiro never thought his life would be the same after the military and it certainly wasn't after this Christmas. It was all thanks to a little baby named Keith.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So some of you might recognize me from my tumblr, @lordofthebigtimesupernatural and recognize my Single Dad Shiro AU that I'm like doing every day! I've decided to archive all of the one shots in one big collection here, for another easy access to this AU instead of digging through the long tag I have on tumblr. I'll still be posting asks and one shots there but this is just another place to store all the parts of this AU! I love interacting with you all, and if you have any prompt ideas, thoughts or comments message me here or send an ask on tumblr! I will surely add your thoughts to this AU if it fits! If you're new to this AU, welcome and if you know my other fics, then you know even with fluff, I am full of angst. Enjoy!

“Thank you for your service.”

                Shiro almost jumped at the sudden voice next to him, but his training in the army keep a calm and cool façade on him. He looked over to see his neighbor smiling at him and holding her hand out to him. She was an older woman, probably in her late sixties but the smile on her face was warm and nothing but motherly to the young man.

               The two of them were about halfway through their flight to Korea and hadn’t spoken much since introductions in the beginning. He remembered her mentioning that her name was Marlene and she was visiting her grandkids.

                “Oh, um, you’re welcome. There’s no need to thank me ma’am.” Shiro smiled brightly at her with a blush on his cheeks. He rubbed the back of head and Marlene kept one hand out to shake and Shiro realized he would have to shake her hand with his old prosthetic. It was an older model and pretty obvious that it wasn’t real, but it would do until the military provided Shiro with a sleek, brand new prosthetic that they were working on.

                Hesitantly he reached out, but she took his hand to shake without a moment’s hesitation.

               “Such a polite young man. I have a son your age, and he always seems to forget his manners, even around his eomma.” Marlene shook her head fondly and Shiro chuckled at her before releasing her hand.

                 “I’m sure he loves you very much ma’am.” Shiro offered, to which the woman waved off with a laugh.

             “Of course he does. He’s the biggest mama’s boy I have ever met. Besides he and his wife just had my youngest grandchild, whom I finally get to meet and spoil rotten.” Marlene said excitedly and Shiro felt a warm feeling rush through his chest. “Hopefully I can teach her some manners, unlike her appa.” Shiro chuckled and nodded to the woman and the two feel into another comfortable silence.

              “Are you stationed out in Korea?” Marlene finally asked and Shiro swallowed.

              “Ah no. I’ve been honorably discharged.” Shiro picked at his uniform before raising his prosthetic awkwardly. “I’ve been home with my folks for about almost a year now, after rehabilitation. I’m headed out to Korea for more personal reasons.”

               “Oh, goodness dear. Again, thank you for your service and sacrifices.” The woman praised once again, causing Shiro to blush and duck his head with a small smile. She didn’t bother to ask for clarification or dig deeper into Shiro’s answer and instead decided to leave the man alone. Shiro was thankful the woman didn’t pry too much as many others had – though most people honestly had good intentions. However, it seemed that Shiro couldn’t keep quiet as she could and just had to share his news with _someone._

              “I’m adopting my son. For Christmas.” Shiro finally blurted out, causing the elder woman’s eyes to widen in surprise. For a split second, Shiro had thought that he had revealed too much or too little and decided to clarify for her benefit. “He’ll be home for Christmas. Out of Korea. Or er, well, we’ll actually be on the flight home for Christmas. I couldn’t get an earlier flight. Wait, is that bad? His first Christmas will be 20,000 feet in the air in a small compartmental plane? Oh, no.”

              Shiro could feel his nerves beginning to bubble underneath the skin, the more and more he spoke. He kept reminding himself to just shut up, but apparently, his mouth wasn’t listening. He kept talking and talking – probably scaring the poor woman next to him.

              The woman simply laughed when Shiro finally closed him mouth, and her eyes were filled with nothing but kindness. “Oh dear, how wonderful to hear! You’re adopting a little boy to bring home for Christmas. What a wonderful way to start a family!” The woman sounded genuinely happy for Shiro, much to his surprise, and even grasped his cold prosthetic hand in hers.

              “Y-Yeah.” Shiro smiled and blushed a deep scarlet color. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, since I don’t have a partner or anything and when I saw his picture, I knew he was my son.” Shiro almost cursed at the slip of his tongue, mentioning that he was a single parent adopting. The woman, though, didn’t so much as bat an eye.

              “Oh my. You love that little boy so much already, I can see it in your eyes dearie.” The woman said kindly, as she put one of her hands on Shiro’s cheek and he was reminded so much of his own mother, who was no doubt getting _his_ house ready for them. “He is going to be a lucky little boy.”

              “I – I hope so.” Shiro licked his lips nervously. “I’m a little scared, but I’ve got my parents – who are so excited already – and all of my friends ready to help. But still.” Shiro chuckled to himself and Marlene smiled once more.

              “Of course your parents are excited. Being a grandparent is a new adventure! Grandparents get to spoil their grandbabies rotten.” The woman winked mischievously and Shiro couldn’t help but laugh warmly at her comment. She just knew exactly what to say to calm Shiro down in one of the most important moments of his life. Shiro could just imagine his parents giving in to his son’s will and spoiling him rotten. Shiro knew _he_ would be spoiling his little boy, even without the help of his parents. He already loved his son that much, and he hadn’t even met him yet. Instead he’d spent nearly five months filling out all the necessary paperwork to get Shiro to bring his son home for Christmas, and even if he still wasn’t legally adopted yet, this boy was his.

              “Would you like to see a picture of him?” Shiro didn’t know if asking a stranger, that he had met only hours ago, to see his adopted son’s picture was weird. But Shiro didn’t care. Thankfully, Marlene beamed brightly and nodded eagerly as Shiro fumbled for the picture that he kept in his breast pocket. It was the very first picture he had seen of his soon-to-be son, and the only picture he kept close to him at all times.

              “He’s almost six months old and his name is Akira…”

x.X.x

              “Are you ready to finally get to hold him, Mr. Shirogane?” The headmistress at the orphanage in Korea asked Shiro softly, almost seventeen hours after Shiro had met Marlene. Shiro had gotten to the orphanage five hours early and had been stuck doing nothing but the last remnants of paperwork and he was itching to see his son.

              Except when the headmistress and social workers finally announced that Shiro could actually see his son, Shiro suddenly wanted to hang back. _What if he didn’t like him? What if he scared his son?_ Shiro’s eyes drifted subconsciously towards his prosthetic and he clenched it into a fist. Noticing this, the headmistress simply smiled and pulled the man up by his arm.

              “It’s quite alright to be nervous, Mr. Shirogane. For many parents we see, this is the biggest moment of their life.” She smiled reassuringly and nodded to Shiro, as she pulled him to his feet. Shiro swallowed thickly, unable to speak when she began to lead him down the hall. Inside his rib cage, his heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour and his eyes were burning.

              _This was it._

_The moment he’d been waiting months for._

_There was no going back._

              The headmistress stopped just before a closed door to the nursey. The social workers had stayed behind to give Shiro some space, which he was very thankful for. The headmistress smiled at Shiro and finally let go of his hand before motioning him to wait outside the door, while she entered the room and shut the door behind her.

              _Thump. Thump. Thump._

              Shiro thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest and he was sure that he had wiped his hands on his pants at least half a dozen times, to ensure they weren’t sweaty – _what if he dropped his son because they were sweaty?_ Shiro swallowed thickly, trying any type of coping mechanism to keep himself calm but the longer he waited, the worse it got.

              His son was just on the other side of his door.

              This door was the only thing that was keeping Shiro’s life from changing. Forever.

              While Shiro was lost in thought, the door swung open and Shiro held his breath. The headmistress stepped out of the room, leaving the door open, but Shiro only had eyes for the red bundle of blankets in her arms.

              _My son._

              “Takashi Shirogane, I’d like you to meet your son.” The woman smiled warmly, as she pulled back the blankets to reveal a small pink face that Shiro had come to memorize for five months. And Shiro’s breath was stolen away.

              He knew this face. He recognized it. He knew it from countless pictures sent to his phone and his email. He knew every curve and every inch of this little face, and yet it was still different. Shiro had memorized this face from the moment he saw it, but nothing could compare to the emotions that Shiro was feeling right in this very moment, as he met his son for the first time.

              He never realized that his _son’s_ cheeks curved drastically and puffed out like little marshmallows. He never realized that his _son’s_ eyelashes were so, so long. There was so much that Shiro had never noticed in the pictures, and now that he can be with his son after months, Shiro couldn’t believe it.

              “Overwhelming, isn’t it.” The headmistress laughed quietly, and the baby in her arms snuffled at the sudden movement. Shiro hadn’t realized he was _crying_ until wet tears dripped onto his hands. He blinked back more tears when the baby shuffled and began to rouse. His heart was beating even faster, as the baby blinked his eyes open, and Shiro found himself captivated by deep blue eyes that almost looked violet in the light.

              “He’s so…he’s so…” Shiro couldn’t find the words to even begin describing his _son._ This beautiful baby that was his. _His._

              The headmistress made a move to place Shiro’s son in his arms, and Shiro faltered. “W – what if I scare him?” Shiro panicked when the baby snuffled at the sudden movement. The baby blinked brightly, focusing between Shiro and the headmistress. One of his arms poked out of the red blanket and flailed in the air with a closed fist.

              “Of course he will be.” The woman dismissed Shiro, already beginning to place the baby into Shiro’s arms. Before Shiro even realized it, he had settled his arms and secured the baby into place. The baby squirmed for a while, waving his freed hand around while, gazing up at Shiro with big, blue eyes, and Shiro was _in love._

              “You’re someone he’s never met before and he’s starting to recognize people. But with enough time and enough love, he’ll be just fine with you.” The headmistress continued with a warm smile, once the baby was securely in his arms. However, Shiro didn’t have any ears no eyes for anyone other than his son.

              _His son._

              Shiro blinked wetly when the baby turned to stare up at Shiro. **_“Hi baby. I’m your daddy.”_** Shiro said in his native language: Japanese. The baby blinked curiously at the unfamiliar language and his little head cocked, making Shiro want to melt into a puddle of goo right then and there.

              **_“Hi there, baby. You’re my son now. It took a while for you and I to meet but I promise I’ve been having the orphanage send me pictures and letters of you every day. And I’ve been watching you grow, my little star.”_ ** Shiro continued softly, when the baby reached out to grab his finger. When his tiny little fingers wrapped around Shiro’s pointer finger. **_“I’ve waited a very long time to meet you, and it’s more than I could ever imagine. I know I might not look like much – and I’m a little scary looking. But I promise – I promise to love you with every last breath in my body. I promise to love you and care for you for every step you take and every day you are in my life. I can’t promise you the moon but I can promise to never stop loving you. I love you already.”_**

              Shiro smiled when the baby gurgled at Shiro’s words, seemingly unafraid of the stranger that was holding him and Shiro had a good feeling about his new son.

              “What’s his name?” The headmistress asked with a gentle grin.

              “Keith.” Shiro said. “Keith Akira Shirogane.”

x.X.x

              Keith had surprisingly been an excellent baby on the airplane. He’d fussed a bit and cried when Shiro had first left the orphanage and spent a night at the hotel alone. That had been the most terrifying moment of Shiro’s life, even more terrifying than any time in the army. Being alone with a crying baby, wondering if he was even any good for him, until eventually calming down and sleeping for a couple hours. It took a few days of Shiro navigating and just when he felt comfortable with Keith, it was time to fly back to _their_ home.

              Shiro’s heart fluttered at the thought. Their home.

              He liked the sound of that.

              He had only called his parents a few times, and hadn’t bothered to skype them, not wanting them to see Keith until they could see him in person and experience what Shiro had experienced.

              Now on the plane, already eight hours into the flight, Keith had his own seat for being such a good boy and hadn’t once cried. He’d gotten fussy and close, but every time that he started up, all Shiro had to do was pull Keith into his arms and the baby would stop in a heartbeat. Then he’d snuggle up to Shiro and either fall asleep or content to stare at Shiro. And Shiro would happily stare at his son for as long as he could.

              Needless to say, Keith probably spent more time in Shiro’s arm than his car seat.

              “You are going to be so loved.” Shiro whispered as he softly stroked Keith’s chubby cheek. Keith kept his big blue eyes locked onto a spot just to the left of new father, as if listening intently to every word. “I love you so much Keith, with my entire heart and I hope you can accept my love. I promise to take care of you for the rest of my life and treasure every moment I have with you.”

              Shiro smiled, leaning back in his seat, to watch the cloudy sky from outside the airplane window and he blinked in realization. He leaned close to his son and tickled his nose against Keith’s cheek, causing the baby to gurgle.

              “Merry Christmas Keith. Here’s to many more Christmases as a family.”

**Author's Note:**

> Some of these one shots might be short, but keep in mind I wrote these all on tumblr first and writing a 10K post on tumblr is not fun ;). I hope you all enjoying this verse and as always, comments, kudos and love is appreciated. If not for me, then for baby Keith and his daddy! I'm trying to put all these one shots in order so we shall see how it goes!


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